Ideas for Activities with Baby?

Hi~
here are some activities to do with your baby
• lay toys on baby’s belly – encourage baby to finger them
• sing songs (e.g. head shoulder knees and toes, wheels on the bus) and hold baby’s arms to help perform movements of the song - http://www.head-start.lane.or.us/education/activities/mus...
• place toys a couple of inches from belly and encourage her to reach up and “swipe”/grasp toys
• lay on belly encourage baby to lift head to look at toys – in this position make sure baby’s arms are in front (bearing weight through forearms) ** if baby doesn’t like belly time continue to encourage/work through it, as the baby builds up endurance and strength it will get easier. Place a mirror in front of the baby to distract
• on baby’s back encourage baby to lift feet, reach for feet. (can place light weight toy on feet encouraging baby to look down to feet, kick feet at toy to make noise) – can also tap belly to engage abdominals; take feet and move back and forth like riding a bike 5-10x then stop and see if she’ll do the same
• practice sitting – hold hands and have musical toys in front to distract - baby should fall forwards as he/she becomes tired
• place baby on side (both sides) – encourage baby to finger toys with both hands
• work on sound imitation, facial imitation
• talk about everything, explain everything in detail (“here is a pretty flower. It’s called a rose. It’s red and smells sweet. The red petals are soft)
• give your baby a “ride” on a blanket
• Make it a challenge (have your baby “work” for his/her toys) to challenge her

Here are some more ideas:
http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=525
http://www.babyzone.com/baby/fun_travel/article/fun-thing...
http://www.babycenter.com/baby-games-activities
http://www.babycenter.com/0_20-fun-silly-development-boos...
http://www.parents.com/baby/new-parent/motherhood/fun-thi...
http://www.nal.usda.gov/wicworks/Sharing_Center/FIT-CA/ba...
http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Activities/Brain-Bo...

Hope this helps! :)

We used to play a lot of "so big" -- our version involved me lying on my back with my legs bent at the knees with baby sitting on my tummy and cozily leaning back on my legs. I'd hold her hands and pull her ever so gently into a straighter sitting position, saying "SO big." After a while, she would do the pulling! She really enjoyed this exercise and when she was a little bigger she would do full sit-ups for her so-big exercise. Builds those core muscles needed for walking later on! Plus of course there's peekaboo, making funny noises and singing songs, and reading books. Maybe think about learning baby sign language? Babies at that age can already learn how to understand some of the signs. Or work on another language, the littler they are when they start learning language, the better they'll understand it!

That being said, don't forget that it's OK for her to just chill by herself sometimes while you take care of your house and meals!

Read to him! Baby books with colorful pictures are great, but even books that you enjoy would be fine. Hold him in your lap while you read the paper or a good novel. He will enjoy the sound of your voice. My son loved to look at the screen savers on my computer. He also enjoyed mobiles. I had several that I bought at garage sales and changed them out several times a day. Just go out and about. Put him in a stroller and walk around the block on nice days or go to the mall and stroll around.

Hi M.,
I have 2 1/2month old twins, a boy and a girl, and I felt the same way. It seems that they are bored, so I turned on some music and stared singing and dancing with them. Sounds funny but I get smiles and giggles already. Aside from that, they have tummy time and I roll them over on the floor, they aren't into reading yet, although we did that during the pregnancy.
Just take some things that you do on a regular basis and include your little one. You will be surprised how just a little bit of interaction will wear them out, give you a little bit of exercise and them too~
Good Luck~

We played a lot of peek a boo, where's the baby, and he spent time under his play gym, bouncer, and jumperoo. I thought my son was bored at that age but I found out as he got older he cries when he's bored with what's in front of him. You are your babys favorite toy and activity! :)

If you are near the Carrollton area the libraries have a fun little Mother Goose story time for babies 0-12 months. Books/songs/parachute play. I've always taken my guys and they love to see other babies! And I love to visit with others in the same boat. It is worth looking into. One library is at Hebron/Josey and one is at Josey/Keller Springs. Hope that helps!